Twelve Thousand Minnesota Nurses Stage One Day Strike Over Nurse-Patient Staffing

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.laborradio.org/node/13678

Submitted by Doug Cunningham on June 10, 2010 - 4:56pm
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By Doug Cunningham

Twelve thousand Minnesota Nurses Association nurses struck twin-cities hospitals Thursday in a one-day strike that is the largest nurse strike action in U.S. history. California nurses held statewide rallies in solidarity with the Minnesota nurses around similar issues. For the nurses the issues are safe staffing, patient protection, improved education and safety regulations for infectious disease. Emergency preparedness and enhanced recruitment and retention policies so there are enough trained nurses to care for patients. Gwynn Pepin is a nurse on the union’s bargaining team.

: “We have been asked to take patients above and beyond what we feel like we can safely care for. I cannot take care of x plus one more. And that’s management’s position. Take one more. Just flex up with us and take one more. The only way I can make the patients’ needs and the profession of nursing viable is to stand up for what we need to do. I have to do this but this isn’t really where my heart is. My heart is to be taking care of my patients.”

[Hoopla Phil]

1. I wonder it the nurses that were on duty and waked out will be charged or

loose their license for patient abandonment.

edit to add: I ask because I know of a paramedic that lost his license for "patient abandonment".

[Angry Dragon]

3. I believe it was a lawful strike

they issued a strike notice

[Hoopla Phil]

6. I understand the strike is legal. That is not my question. The question is

Of the nurses that were on duty when the strike starts. They cannot legally leave until their relief reports - that is considered patient abandonment. Will those that got stuck on duty be prosecuted or loose their license? It does create a quandary.

[riverwalker]

8. they took care of that

They did not allow the scabs and union nurses to meet at any point. Hospital security escorted union staff out, after they gave report to management (non-union) nurses, the scabs were escorted in, and management gave them report.

[riverwalker]

4. They had 13 days notice

They flew in 2800 scabs, paid them $2400 for one days work. Paid for the airfare and 3 nights in a hotel, plus all meals. This strike is about patient safety and staffing ratios. The scabs had luxury staffing, 2800 scabs for 2407 patients. Extra auxillary staff were on hand.

[Hoopla Phil]

7. Ok, so there WAS relief nurses to take over for the nurses that left.

Good, otherwise there could be a big dust up if nurses walked out at the end of shift without a relief nurse to take over. They could loose their license for doing that.

[riverwalker]

9. absolutely

It's not like the nurses just walk away, we would never do that. The management (non-union) nurses are RN's, they just gave up bedside nursing. We hand off to them, they hand off to the scabs.

[ensho]

2. kick

nt

[riverwalker]

5. Hospital security assaulted a nurse

After the 24 hour strike, a nurse organizer was escorting the nurses back into the hospital to work, she was assaulted by a hospital security guard and thrown into the street. Sustained injuries to her neck and shoulder. A little 23 year old girl about 100 lbs. Had been awake for 24 hours organizing the peaceful, uneventful strike when it happened. Disgusting.